John Smyth:

>Why is it necessary for the tonal/atonal* argument to go so far past the
>simple issue of personal like and dislike, almost becoming a quasi-moral
>issue of which one must permanently take a side? Wouldn't it be odd if
>someone on here said in passing that he didn't like dark meat, and suddenly
>the whole list was flooded with pro-dark meat/pro-white meat postings, with
>even the list dignitaries jumping into the fray, ceremoniously delivering
>wax-sealed proclamations for or against?

You're right, John.  However, let's see why does this discussion returns
in various threads.  By the way, your analogy of dark/white meat is very
good in order to understand this kind of polemiques: do you remember what
happened at the first century A.D. in Antioch?.  Read the Facts of the
Apostles (11: 5-9).

Here is my point.  Some people of this list seems to believe that "atonal
freaks" --among I'm glad to be counted-- hold the same rough ideological
standpoints of the early XX century avant garde.  They think that we don't
read anything but the writings of Schoenberg, Adorno, Leibowitz, Boulez et.
al., They think us as a sort of fool's elite who looks with contempt to all
those who don't have "good taste or sensibility enough" to appreciate "our"
music.  They think that we attack their intelligence and personal taste
(which is no matter of dispute, as an old motto says).

But the truth is that we just enjoy both Webern and Haydn, and (I suppose),
none of us would say that one of them is more or less progressive (ergo:
better) than the other, or that one of them represents the "only possible
future for the art of music".  "Schoenberg and Webern believed it so" would
say someone.  To this I answer: well, Kepler believed himself a dog, a
fact which does not seems to be an obstacle for an astronomer to enjoy the
reading of his works.

Some other people attacks atonal music from the erroneous supposition that
"atonal stuff" is just a large and single bag where one can put Schoenberg
and Ligeti together.  No civilised polemique is possible with that kind of
arguments.  I would like to hear them talk about particular works and
composers; then we will be ready to discuss gently.

Pablo Massa
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